St John's Playgroup
Outstanding★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Harrogate for children from birth to 8+, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in May 2024. Open since 1992, with 24 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
What childcare usually costs in North Yorkshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in North Yorkshire from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
HG1 3DTWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 2 May 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are extremely happy at this pre-school. The manager ensures that children's safety is a top priority. Children demonstrate they feel safe and are confident to talk to the inspector. There is a robust, yet flexible, settling-in process for children. This means that sessions suit individual children's needs. The preschool offers home visits to parents. These are extremely beneficial and help children to settle in quickly. Staff skilfully build on what they observe children playing with at home. They set up similar activities at pre-school. This further supports the transition between home and pre-school.
There is a clear key-person system in place. Staff know their key children exceptionally well and how to support any possible gaps in learning. They have high expectations of what they want children to learn and of children's behaviour.
This helps all children to make excellent progress in relation to their starting points, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
- 2 May 2024Outstanding
- 26 June 2018Good
- 4 December 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for St John's Playgroup
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.